The Impacts of Herbal Medicines and Natural Products on Regulating the Hepatic Lipid Metabolism

Abstract

The dysregulation of hepatic lipid metabolism is one of the hallmarks in many liver diseases including alcoholic liver diseases (ALD) and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD). Hepatic inflammation, lipoperoxidative stress as well as the imbalance between lipid availability and lipid disposal, are direct causes of liver steatosis. The application of herbal medicines with anti-oxidative stress and lipid-balancing properties has been extensively attempted as pharmaceutical intervention for liver disorders in experimental and clinical studies. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying their hepatoprotective effects warrant further exploration, increasing evidence demonstrated that many herbal medicines are involved in regulating lipid accumulation processes including hepatic lipolytic and lipogenic pathways, such as mitochondrial and peroxisomal b-oxidation, the secretion of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), the non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) uptake, and some vital hepatic lipogenic enzymes. Therefore, in this review, the pathways or crucial mediators participated in the dysregulation of hepatic lipid metabolism are systematically summarized, followed by the current evidences and advances in the positive impacts of herbal medicines and natural products on the lipid metabolism pathways are detailed. Furthermore, several herbal formulas, herbs or herbal derivatives, such as Erchen Dection, Danshen, resveratrol, and berberine, which have been extensively studied for their promising potential in mediating lipid metabolism, are particularly highlighted in this review. FIGURE 1 | Major processes involved in hepatic lipid metabolism. Li et al.

Berberine ameliorates nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by decreasing the liver lipid content via reversing the abnormal expression of MTTP and LDLR

“…Xing et al (12) and Yang et al (13) reported that BBR has a protective effect on NAFLD. other previous studies also demonstrated that BBR had an important role in NAFLD and hepatic inflammations, such as hepatic steatosis, through regulating insulin receptor substrate 2, triggering AMP-activated protein kinase and inhibiting oxidative stress (14)(15)(16). In liver lipid metabolism, the key factors for VLDL transport are microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTTP), apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), and their expression levels affect the assembly and secretion of VLDL.…”

Oxidative Stress in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. An Updated Mini Review

“…Anthocyanins, lycopene, coenzyme Q10, flavonoids, β-carotene, lipoic acid, selenium, lutein, catechins, and vitamins A, C, and E are among the many substances normally present in foods that possess a high antioxidant activity. As reported in the table, they can be also classified in two large groups on the basis of the presence/absence of their enzymatic action [ (103)(104)(105)(106)(107)(108)(109)(110)(111)(112)(113)(114); Table 1].…”

Apple pomace and rosemary extract ameliorates hepatic steatosis in fructose-fed rats: Association with enhancing fatty acid oxidation and suppressing inflammation

“…However, there are still no approved drugs for the treatment of NAFLD. Many natural products and herbal medicines have great antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-adipogenic effects that allow them to be possible therapeutic agents in NAFLD treatment (26,27). Apple pomace is a by-product of apple processing used for beverages and desserts; however, due to the lack of awareness of apple pomace recycling, large amounts of resources are wasted (28,29).…”

“…However, there are still no approved drugs for the treatment of NAFLD. Many natural products and herbal medicines have great antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-adipogenic effects that allow them to be possible therapeutic agents in NAFLD treatment ( 26 , 27 ).…”